I Am Different! Can You Find Me?

By: Manjula Padmanabhan

Published by Charlesbridge 2011

Reading Level: Lexile 490L

Read Aloud, 3.2

Fun, Vibrant, Clever, Inviting, Unique

“A tour de force. … A substantive, engaging title for multilingual education. Bravo!”
- Kirkus Reviews

Founded in 1994, The Global Fund for Children is a nonprofit organization committed to advancing the dignity of children and youth around the world. Global Fund for Children books teach young people to value diversity and help them become productive and caring citizens of the world.

I am Different, celebrates differences. We are often looking at the similarities between any two people or objects but what about our differences? Our differences are what make us so unique. Each pages displays, “Can you find me?” in one of 16 different languages now spoken in North America today presented throughout the book. The pronunciation of the language, Can You Find Me, is directly below for you and your students to try. Each page also contains an illustration, a puzzle, of all what seems to be the same image. But wait! Something is different about one of the images compared to the rest. The cover of the book even has one hand different than the rest. Manjula, also provides some interesting facts about each language and some of the English words spoken today which actually originated from another language.

Key Vocabulary:

This book contains a large amount of simple words. The only vocabulary your students should know is the words they might know section of the page that are English words but originated from a different language.

Ukulele, camel, algebra, boondocks, gumbo, tote, silk, hurricane, coyote, volcano, ballet

However, when coming across these words you can first ask your students if they know what a ukulele is. If not, present a picture and briefly describe a ukulele.

 

Teaching Suggestions –

Before Reading:

 Group your class in pairs. Have the student’s research where one of the 16 languages presented in the book originated from. You, the teacher can do English, if there are not enough pairs to do all 16 languages.

During Reading:

Your students are to present to the class on a map the location of where the language is mostly spoken when reading the specific page of the language. You may also want the pair to pronounce, “Can you find it?” in the language.

After Reading:

For further instruction, have your student’s research other differences about the specific language assigned previously. Create a poster; include the flags of the countries of which the language is spoken, and about one page of information spread out, a phrase in English translated to the other language, and some fun facts. Make it exciting! You can even create one yourself J

Electronic Resources –

BookChums: Contains a short biography about the Indian novelist, playwright, and cartoonist who is also an author and illustrator for many children’s books. Some of Manjula books are also listed on the site.

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”

Audre Lorde, Caribbean-American writer